Silverfast Color Management vs. Monaco EZcolor

[dvack92]

I received both with my Epson Expression 1680 scanner, but I don't think I have the version of silverfast has the IT8 calibration.

Should I get Silverfast w/ IT8 calibration or should I use EZcolor 1.6 to set up all my profiles?

[ilyons]

On 2001-12-27 14:38, dvack92 wrote:
I received both with my Epson Expression 1680 scanner, but I don't think I have the version of silverfast has the IT8 calibration.

Should I get Silverfast w/ IT8 calibration or should I use EZcolor 1.6 to set up all my profiles?

Chris Monaco EZcolor can be used to create the profiles. You'll need to set allt he scanner CMS functions to none. The gamma to about 2.2 and then make a scan at about 66ppi. Save it out as a Tiff file in Photoshop and then open in EZ color. From there ir should be pretty straight forward.

Assuming you still mean Photoshop LE:

To use the profile in SilverFast you simply set the CMS dialog so that:

Scanner=>Internal = Image Color Matching

Internal=>Monitor = Image Color Matching

Internal=>Output = RGB

Scanner (Reflective) = your scanner profile

Internal = sRGB or your monitor profile

Output Printer = None

Intent = Perceptual

Hope this helps

Ian

[dvack92]

The output/printer is greyed out with the following selection:

US Web Coated (SWOP)

I think I set this at an earlier date (because that is the setting with my Deskjet Printer software) but I can't get the pick box to let me select another one.

If you haven't figured already, I am a super novice. I work for an architect, and we are trying to get to a point where we can reproduce photos from a print scan, for brochures. We had a UMAX Astra 1220P, so I had no idea about color management.

I appreciate all your help and I have been to your website for more info. I am also looking at your tutorials on the Silverfast web site. With all this I should be able to get the scanner working well.

Thanks
Chris

[dvack92]

BTW: Our new scanner is an epson expression 1680. Your tutorials seem to reference a Polaroid and I am assuming that is a professional photo scanner. Are your tutorials good for my scanner? I have written to Epson to see if they have any optimum settings, but haven't gotten a response.

Thanks
Chris

[dvack92]

I solved the output/printer question.

I just had to select ICM color matching on the Internal -> Output tab.

Once I changed the output/printer, I reset the Internal -> Output to RGB

Chris

[dvack92]

We also have a PC, and it appears you work with a MAC. Also, the Plug & Play CMYK is greyed out and set to "US Web Coated (SWOP)".

Also, what should my dpi be set to when scanning a print?

I am learning about this interface, so bear with my multiple messages. I just figured out how to edit my message once submitted.



Chris

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[ilyons]

Chris,

On 2001-12-27 15:11, dvack92 wrote:
We also have a PC, and it appears you work with a MAC. Also, the Plug & Play CMYK is greyed out and set to "US Web Coated (SWOP)".

Also, what should my dpi be set to when scanning a print?

I work on both PC and Mac so for me Mac or PC makes no real difference as SilverFast and Photoshop use pretty much the same interface (bar a few colours and squared off edges). Likewise the Polaroid tutials should be ok.

So far as CMYK, etc is concerned, it gets ignored once you choose to output in RGB. Assuming that you are printing to an inkjet printer this will be fine. If printing to a Postscript printer or Laser then you will need to read the manual as I avoid that end like bad smells

[dvack92]

My Deskjet 1220C does have postscript capability. I have two printer settings; 1 for the postscript and 1 for regular.

Do you know anyone who would know about postscript printers?

Chris

[ilyons]

On 2001-12-27 16:18, dvack92 wrote:
My Deskjet 1220C does have postscript capability. I have two printer settings; 1 for the postscript and 1 for regular.

Do you know anyone who would know about postscript printers?

Chris

I don't but even so I do NOT recommend scanning into CMYK. Leave that part of your imaging to Photoshop and you should be better placed to optimse your images for wider use than a specific printer.

Ian

[ianders1]

I have an Epson 1600 (predecessor to the 1680) and use a PC with Postscript output, often in CMYK. I also had a Umax 1220, so I know what a transition into the world of professional scanning is like.

Here are some answers to what I see are your questions:

1. The IT8 Upgrade is worth it, but if you've got Monaco, you can create an ICC profile and store it in your Windows/System32/Color or Winnt/System32/spool/drivers/color/ folder. There you can set it as the scanner profile in Silverfast. This limits you to just reflective calibration, though, unless Monaco was nice enough to throw in a transparent IT8 target. Also, as far as I know, Epson only includes the SE version of Silverfast, so you may want to upgrade to the IT8 version when you upgrade to the full version.

2. Your HP printer has a postscript driver, but you'll likely get better results sending an RGB file to the non-postscript (PCL) driver.

3. To change to Adobe RGB (which is best for overall scanning) you need to make sure that the scan button says RGB. If it says CMYK, right-click and select RGB, and then select Adobe RGB in the CMS set-up.

4. Scanning directly into CMYK is an incredible feature of Silverfast, but it needs to be used judiciously. It's great because if you know you're going directly to press, as I often do, it saves the tedious work of converting from RGB to CMYK, which is an unexact process that often needs adjustment for each image. Silverfast allows you to get an exact CMYK preview which works best when the scanner is IT8 calibrated. Only scan in CMYK if you're only going to be outputting on a commercial 4-color press. Otherwise, use RGB.

5. I've been absent on this forum for various reasons, but I'm back, so feel free to ask more questions if you have any.

-Ian A.

[dvack92]

Thank you IAN A.

My HP printer came with ADOBE Pressready Basics 1.0. The controls let me define paper type and quality, and it shows the adobe print color and allows me to change it.

I will use the pcl driver. The only benefit to the other driver was 1200 dpi, but I guess 600 is sufficient for reproducing photos??

Let me say I have learned a lot in the (1) day of using this forum. You have explained, the difference between CMYK & RGB, to me and that is very helpful. We will not be printing to 4-color press, so I will never have a use.

Could you tell me what dpi is best for scanning a color photo print? I typically do 200 dpi because of size, however if scanning at a higher dpi will help fix my dark image problem and the slight color variation, I would consider a higher dpi.

I have been told that color management is the key to my problem, but until I get a full version of Photoshop, it does not appear that I will be able to use the profiles I create. Any suggestions?

Thanks much,
Chris Dvorak

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dvack92 on 2001-12-27 20:16 ]</font>

[ianders1]

Chris,

I'm glad that I've been able to help. I didn't realize that you were using PhotoShop LE, which doesn't have color management. As for your DPI question, that mostly depends on your printer. 200DPI for a photo is Ok, but you might try 300DPI to see if there's an improvement. Photographic prints aren't very high resolution themselves, so higher DPI scans might not pay off much.

Pressready is a good program, but Adobe stopped developing it a year or so ago, and it's (unfortunately) fallen behind the times.

As for your scans being dark, try the midtone slider in Silverfast to brighten the image before you scan it in.

As for color-management, it's not the exact science it seems to be, at least in the under $30,000 world. You can usually get your scanner and monitor to line up, but matching screen to print is tough, and the best you can hope for is to be really close. Only with professional tools, costing tens of thousands of dollars can you achieve an exact match.

This isn't to say that you shouldn't look into color-management, because I'm not sure if I could get along without it. I'm a graphic designer, and I have to give my clients accurate proofs, so without a color-managed system, I would not be able to do that. I guess I just get frustrated that I can never seem to get a PERFECT match, but then again, nobody besides me can seem to tell the difference.

Before laying out more cash, I'd fool around with your printer and see how close a match you can get without color management. If you, and more importantly, your boss is happy with the prints from your HP, don't worry too much about all of the stuff you read here.

Thanks,

Ian Anderson

[dvack92]

Ian A,

I get a pretty accurate scan, but the one thing I notice is if I print the scan with no adjustments, it appears to be fuzzy (not sharp, too soft(I just looked at your website and the girl example fits me)) and light.
When I select Image/Adjust/Auto Levels, the image clears up, sharpens up and darkens up.

Do you have any idea what this is? Should I be selecting the Auto Levels feature? Why doesn't the scanner bring in the image like the print? (LOL, probably color management)

Chris Dvorak

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dvack92 on 2001-12-27 22:20 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: dvack92 on 2001-12-27 22:28 ]</font>

[ianders1]

Chris,

Two things, first of all, are you trying to get an exact copy of the prints that you scan in? If so, you may want to go into each adjustment box and hit reset, so that you have close to an exact copy in the prescan. From there, make minor adjustments to the midtone slider. This will give you a more accurate copy of the print. Auto-adjusting is meant to improve the image, but often times, it overdoes it, and if your source prints are really good, then you need not use it.

As for the sharpness issue, your DPI is most likely what's causing it. Something that you want to try is to scan it in at 300 and 600dpi, and print it. If it's noticeably better, that's your problem. Also, you can try some of the methods I show on my site, but for what you're doing, I'd try the "PhotoShop "Hard Light" Sharpen" or just good old UnSharp Mask. Both of these methods should be sufficient for your prints.

The link again is:

http://www.webdextrous.com/tutorials/sharpest.htm

-Ian A.

[dvack92]

Some other questions:

1. On Silverfast Frame tab: What is the Q-factor and what should it be set to? I read 1.3 or 1.4 somewhere, but don't know what it means.

2. How can I determine the lpi of my monitor?

3. On Options/General : Gamma Gradation & Q-factor again?? Also on this tab, my color model was set to CMY. Based on a passed message, I set it to RGB.

I really need to find a class to take on all this *********??

Chris Dvorak